Languages of Africa

The languages of Africa include more than 3,000 languages. These languages include native languages (languages that come from Africa) and colonial languages, which were brought to Africa by colonists from Europe. The continent has the highest concentration of languages in the world. [1] At least 30% of the world's languages come from and are spoken in Africa. [2]

Over the years, many African languages have died out and become extinct. This happens for several reasons, including wars and genocide by other African tribes.[3][4] Other languages were abandoned, or its speakers disappeared.[3]

Still other linguists believe that the Nilo-Saharan languages and the Niger-Congo languages are part of the same family. These linguists organize the African languages into only three language families: Niger-Congo languages, Afroasiatic languages, and Khoisan languages.[12]

No matter how the major language families are organized, there are many smaller families and language isolates. In addition, there are some obscure (rare, uncommon) languages that are not yet classified into any family. Africa also has some sign languages, which are mostly language isolates.